Redlands

Twenty-eight years. That is how long Eilis Bridgeby has fought the pull of the woods before her, with its lush greens and cooling mist. Her clan called it the Wasteland, symbolic for all the opportunities that they would no longer have. She had only wandered near enough to feel the mist a handful of times, each time her fear reminding her not to stray too close, for even now, the beasts snarl, growl, and search for trespassers to prey upon.

Not so long ago, her clan lived within the woods; they had thriving cities, sturdy homes and food grew aplenty. Eilis was only a child of four when the Beasts appeared, with their long claws and reddened teeth. Wolves, bears and even boars, they all turned on humans. Ripped from the game of dice she had been playing with a childhood friend, she and her mother ran as around them beasts ripped into homes and people; toppling buildings in their quest to rid themselves of us all. Eilis ran until her legs gave out and then her mother carried her further still. They traveled far into the Redlands before mother had realized that the beasts had stopped chasing them. Now, the beasts kept to their thriving woods, humans were banished to the dry, barren desert, and Eilis had never seen her friend again. She often imagined that there were survivors in the woods. Maybe they had found a stronghold and were holding back the devils. There are other clans in the Redlands, but it is depressing to think that the clans, small as they are, are the only ones left.

At thirty-two years old, there was only one thing she could do to help her people. Garden. The soil surrounding their village is too dead to produce life, but the fertility of the Wasteland extends a few feet further than its foliage and the very end of the river Rue makes it a meager 50 feet into the desert before it fizzles out. It is just enough to keep her village from death. From atop her perch on the watchtower, Eilis could see her mother working in the three-foot-wide patch of garden that runs for a mile in either direction. It was the only reprieve anyone would have from the cracked ground of the desert. She could see individuals as they made their way to the river to fill basins and return it home to their loved ones. This was the only source for drinking, bathing, and cooking and though the families took daily turns to do the job, for larger families, it was an all-day task. Eilis felt blessed that it was only herself and her mother.

Eilis made her way to the ground. The sunrise was peaceful to watch but now the day had begun, and she was ready to work. As she joined her mother in the garden, she was once again struck by how beautiful her mother was. While the heat and dirt had convinced Eilis long ago to keep her hair cut to above her ears, her mother refused. Sharing the same dark brown, wavy hair as Eilis, her mother took time every day to care for her long locks. Most days she kept it in a braid that would fall right below her shoulder blades but days like today, when the season was changing and a slightly cooler breeze could be felt, her mother left it down and what a sight it was. Standing five-foot, seven inches tall and hair falling to her waist, Midge Bridgeby was intimidating to every woman in the village. Her face was home to the deepest blue eyes Eilis had ever seen and her cheeks still had a playful jiggle when she laughed. Midge was a lovely sight and although she vowed to never wed again after the passing of her husband, she liked to keep it that way. Eilis always knew it was a good day when her mother was in her glory.

Eilis kneeled to begin weeding the edge of the garden closest to the village and her mother wandered around looking for food to pluck and to trim any wayward vines. They stayed there for the next few hours, tending to nature in harmony. As more villagers began their day, Eilis could hear children running to class and parents heading to work their trades. Everyone was a bit livelier today, as they all felt the season begin to change. The feast of Autumn would be soon, and everyone was readying their wares for the travelers that the feast would draw in from the surrounding clans. Gentle wisps of smoke could be seen leaving the smokehouse as the butcher dried the lizards, rodents, snakes, and any other source of protein they were able to trap the night before. Men pulled in nets they had left overnight to see if any fish or toads had wandered to the end of the River Rue, and women could be seen retrieving honey from the makeshift beehives they tended.

Checking to make sure she was not going to step on any plants as she extracted herself from the plot, Eilis noticed a small patch of green maybe five inches closer to the village than the rest of the garden. She had never seen anything green grow even one inch passed where the garden ended, yet here it was. Eilis looked down the edge of the garden and as far down as she could see, there were sprouts of green the whole way! A bubble of excitement arose in Eilis. Maybe with her village working the ground, the fertile soil had started to spread. If so then they could have a bigger garden which would mean more for the villagers but also more to trade with other clans. Eilis had not had this much hope in years.

With a smile on her face, she yelled for her mother, “Mom! Come look at this!”, but as she turned to face her mother, she froze. Coming up behind Midge was the only beast Eilis had seen in the long twenty-eight years. The massive grizzly bears' shoulders looked to stand four foot tall and had to be close to seven foot long… and it was only feet from her mother. Eilis grabbed her shovel and sprung into action, racing to protect her mother who had not yet noticed the beasts’ presence. Vegetables fell and plants were trampled as her feet pounded the ground. Eilis stretched out her arm as she came into reach, but she was too late. The beast’s foul breath filled the air as its stained teeth pierced her mother’s side, pulling her along as he turned to leave. Her mother’s scream of surprise quickly turned to one of agony. Her distorted face searching for help as her life trickled down her side. Eilis lunged; shovel raised in one hand while the other reached for the only light left in her life. She closed her hand, and then it was all over. Her mother was gone, into the woods with the beast. She wanted to go after her! Surely, she was still alive! But even now her fear would not let her pass the garden. Laying on the red painted ground, she felt something press into her hand.

Loosening her grip, Eilis saw her mother’s heart-shaped locket. Twisted through the dainty chain, she could see small strands of her mother’s hair, swaying as the breeze stirred them. A gift from her father, the locket contained a photo of him and Eilis; her mother had worn it every day in an attempt to keep her husband close. Now it, and the small wisps of dark brown, were all she had left of her family.